	Article Directory		Article Submission Service		Article Marketing Blog		Publishers		Member Log In

Article Directory :: Reference & Education Articles

Is Your Child's Education in Need of TIME?

By Kristin Gabriel

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 20Aug2008
Word count: 401
Viewed: 400 time(s)

Get Free Content For Your Site

Children going back to school this year will face a number of issues and challenges at school and in the classroom. In addition to learning disabilities, there is bullying, violence, and discrimination. There are also some disadvantaged schools and classrooms without enough books or desks. What's more, many children themselves are facing individual health challenges such obesity, dyslexia, depression, disabilities, and other issues.

One student drops out every 26 seconds in America, and for African-Americans the number is one million dropouts a year. (Source: American Alliance)

In fact, Harvard found in a study that black students fall behind by the time they are three years old. About 3/4 of the one million New York students are a minority, with 70 percent impoverished. Schools are fighting to change this, proving that smaller schools, mentoring and focusing on a student's individual needs is what is beating the odds.

Teachers and parents know that education is more than just classrooms and books. What is finally encouraging, is that the government is finally proposing new bills to help deflect problems like this and increase a student's chances to learn.

Perhaps you have wondered if more kids attended school, maybe there would be less crime? The relationship between school attendance and crime goes back more than 200 years.

Violence has been around for thousands of years, long before the compulsory school attendance statutes. In reality, references to youth gangs are even recorded in the Bible along with education, learning and achievement.

On August 1, 2008 Senator Kennedy introduced the Time for Innovation Matters in Education (TIME) Act, which appears to be an important next step for the movement on expanded learning time.

Co-sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the Act is intended to provide federal funding that supports states expanding their school days. This reform initiative is modeled after the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative, and would enable low-performing, high-poverty schools to implement a longer school days or school years, by the year 2010.

Should the TIME Act be enacted, it allocates $350 million next year and up to $500 million for 2014.

Senator Kennedy emphasizes the need to help American schools to remain competitive, and to ensure that each student gets a 21st century education. The Senator and his co-sponsors believe in this expanded learning time as a promising new reform strategy.

Kristin Gabriel is an author and social media marketing professional and works with Rocco Basile of the the Basile Builders Group based in New York. Basile is involved with several charities including Children of the City and the Joe DiMaggio Committee for Xaverian High School.

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here